What Friends Do
by fandombloggingaddict
Summary: "We're friends," The wrestler decided. Bender glared. "Shut up." "We are. We're hanging out, you're being honest, I bought you dinner, and I don't want you to die. Feels like friend stuff."


What the hell was he doing? This was going to get him killed. Bender would honestly be the death of him.

Andy heard movement inside, but nothing startling. Not yet. As he was about to knock, he heard what sounded like a fight ensuing. No time like the present. He knocked a solid three times.

As he waited in the chill outside, he got the overwhelming feeling that he shouldn't be there. He didn't belong in this part of town, and he certainly didn't belong on Bender's front step.

The door opened and Bender's dad stood there, blocking the view into the house. Andy expected to see a towering, raging, red-faced brute. The man was tall, and strong looking for that matter - but he appeared calm and even looked innocently polite. For a split second, Andy wondered if Bender had been lying all this time.

"Uh, hi. I'm Andy. I was wondering if-" He almost said Bender. Cool it, be casual. "if John was home, I wanted to hang out."

"Oh yeah? He didn't say anything about that to me." It wasn't a challenge. The man was calm and certain.

"That's my fault, I forgot to bring it up to him in school today. Sorry for the inconvenience, I can just go if it's a bad time."

The man thought a second, then smiled coldly. Any more talk and his facade would crumble. "No, actually, he'd probably appreciate the chance to get out, been cooped up too much I guess." He tipped his head to the side to gesture behind him. "I'll get him." The door closed and after a few seconds there was a scuffling sound. The door opened again and John was shoved outside, though it looked like he just stumbled. The door closed behind him.

He looked pretty bad, standing there in only his old boots, jeans, and a wife beater. He always wore long sleeved shirts and like three jackets in school, and Andy realized why now. There was a scar or two visible dipping below his shoulders, and his arms were bruised. He looked confused and not a little pissed.

"The hell..."

"Thought you might wanna get out."

He made a face like that was the most bullshit he'd ever heard. "Why?"

They started down the steps and onto the sidewalk, not walking anywhere in particular. "You've been weird lately. You know, off the drugs and all that. I figured you had a lot going on. And I was bored."

"You think I can't just go on a walk my damn self if I want to?"

Andy shrugged.

"Shouldn't be out here," Bender said lowly.

It was getting dark, and John had to be cold, though he didn't show it. Andy had no doubt that these streets got ten times more dangerous when the sun went down. But the more disgruntled that Bender got, the more Andy knew he'd done the right thing. No matter how bad the neighborhood was, it was safer out here right now than it was at home for the guy. Bender was just pissed that Clarke knew that.

He noticed that the school criminal, no matter how nonchalant he was trying to act, was starting to shiver, and he looked thinner than he used to. All those layers in school really hid a lot. "You hungry?"

"No," Bender shot back.

"Well, I am." To be fair, Andy really was. Pretty much always was. "Let's go to that burger joint, there's one around here, right?"

Bender took a deep breath, then nodded down the street they were on. "A few blocks down."

"Great. I'm buying."

"Not for me, sweetcheeks."

"Fine, but I'm getting way too much food, and you're gonna help me with it. Sometimes I get one of everything, usually suits me, but sometimes there's something I don't like."

John looked at him like he was a freak. "The whole menu?"

Andy raised his eyebrows in confirmation.

"Damn, I guess somebody's gotta help your fat ass. I'm in."

~

Walking out and feeling like they could never eat another bite in their lives, felt pretty good. The warm light from inside spilled out through the wide windows and the smell of hot fresh food followed them a minute. On the way back to Bender's place, the silence as they walked was less awkward than before. Andy hated to break the relative peace, but he was more intent on getting some answers.

"Claire's worried."

"She's always worried."

"About you."

John's brow furrowed.

"I don't know what's going on, but it seems like your old man's been really controlling lately. And you haven't smoked in a while, which probably wasn't your choice. You've been a different person."

John didn't know what to say in response to that. He should have answered with a quick jab, but he just didn't feel like it. Andy was acting like a friend, but they weren't friends. He settled on not answering.

"Claire thinks you're gonna die."

That made John look at him incredulously. "What?"

"She's probably overreacting, but I get it. You're closed off, not pulling pranks anymore, not smoking, and you're stressed out all the time. Like instead of seeing senior year as your way out, you see it as the end of your life."

"Not my fault," He huffed. "I don't know. He's been crazy. Guess he realized that I could leave any time, and he'll kill me before that happens. Won't let me leave."

Andy understood the twisted logic, and it freaked him the fuck out that Bender had to live like that. It really was like he was dying. The fact that there was nothing he could do made Andy feel useless.

"We're friends." The wrestler decided.

"Shut up."

"We are. We're hanging out, you're being honest, I bought you dinner, and I don't want you to die. Feels like friend stuff."

"We're not friends, okay? You could drop dead right now and I wouldn't even blink."

"Liar."

John stopped walking and spun to face him, looking near murderous. "Fuck off, will you? Mind your own business. You don't belong here. You are not my friend."

Andy shrugged. "Sorry, saying that doesn't make it true. We're friends, accept it."

"Having a tiff, ladies?" A new voice interjected. A bunch of guys stepped out from the alley next to them and surrounded them in seconds. Bender's glare hardened. "You know, maybe some marriage counselling would be a good next step in your relationship."


End file.
